I have a feeling this may be the 'fun' action scene for the last act of the movie, and the following action scene with the wargs will be more tense (still with a lot of gags and visual flare of course).

The little bits of action I've seen have been the parts that I've like the least. And that seems to be the bit that all the negative reviews are praising.

The warg attack still looks weird even in HD. I'm not going to be happy if this is a result of the new methods of filming.

The Goblin town sequence just seems to be a bunch of over the top action.

Honestly, I was reminded of a particular scene from King Kong that I really didn't like when I saw these two parts. The scene I'm talking about is the brontosaurus stampede. It seemed like a bunch of over the top CGI green-screen action and by the end of it every character was seemingly unscathed.

I really hope these are the only moments of action that are like this. The warg scene wouldn't be bad if it didn't look weird. But that Goblin Town scene just did not put a good taste in my mouth.

Sorry to be so negative guys. I really LOVED everything else that I saw though! -Sir are you classified as human -Negative, I am a meat-popsicle

This looks more like the brontosaurus stampede in King Kong than, say, the battle of Amon Hen in FoTR. I'm not getting a sense of danger of suspense here. It's just one flashy stunt-piece after another.

I didn't even see this post until just now. Glad I'm not the only one who felt this way! Well, honestly, I'm a bit upset that any of use felt this way. -Sir are you classified as human -Negative, I am a meat-popsicle

Who loved every single one of those clips. It's great if you ask me. I even like the OTT action sequence of goblin town. I think it helps that I decided a long time ago was that it would not be LOTR. It feels like the absolutely right atmosphere of the movie.

Especially liked the clip of Fili and Kili arriving. Freeman is top notch as Bilbo and I'm very much liking the characterization of some of the dwarves. "You're love of the halflings leaf has clearly slowed your mind"

Seeing Dwalin acting like a badass and the ropes twirling around etc - it definitely gave me a chuckle not to mention the ladder trick lol! ;) I do not want what it is not mine.... I only want what comes from within....

Personally, i feel that the goblin town scene is exactly how 'The Hobbit' action scenes should be (at least for AUJ). Since this is only the first film, we should be expecting the OTT action pieces as this isn't LOTR. The only criticism from me,"first person Gandalf does not belong in the hobbit" :P

Not a fan of certain parts of it, sad to say, the misplaced Wilhelm-scream, Kíli deflecting arrows with his sword (really?), and other such overexaggerated, over-the-top moments alike. Sure, the Hobbit has a much more light-hearted tone to it (a tone which I am very much looking forward to experiencing), but I don't think that necessitates going to such extremes with the battles; It just takes away from the supposed danger of the situation, and makes it hard to take it serious, imo. Also, I never really got a sense of what was actually going on with the characters; One second, they were all running together, the next, they were somehow separated, yet it was never clear exactly how that happened.

That's as far as my criticism goes though, and I really can't stress just how much I enjoyed the rest of the clips (well, apart from the Riddles in the Dark, which I decided not to watch; I'm mustering all my willpower to save that one for the cinema); Heck, even the Goblin-town segment, with it's faults, filled me with delight, seeing Gandalf for real again, seeing the dwarves in action, and hearing Shore's tunes. My favorite is the arrival of the dwarves at Bag End, so far it feels like they got the Unexpected Party exactly right. I also squealed with glee when I recognised Thorin's last line in the warg-segment; "What in Durin's name is going on?".

The clip with the wargs is wonderful. The Wargs look SOOO much more appropriate.
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Very much like giant evil wolves bordering very closely on looking like werewolves. I like that scene ALOT! That is the kind of expansion I don't mind. It makes sense, and it doesn't contradict the text, even if it isn't an event that happens in the text. It doesn't go back and re-edit anything, and it fits in with the back knowledge that Sauron would have tried to hinder an attempt on Erebor, and it also mirrors very closely what DID happen to Thrain. Too bad Thrain didn't have any Wizards looking after him until it was too late. "Hear me, hounds of Sauron, Gandalf is here! Fly if you value your foul skins, I will shrivel you from tail to snout if you step within this circle!"

"Do not be to eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

I have always been a little vary about the idea of wargs tracking the company right from the start, but now that you bring up how well it mirrors Thráin's journey, something which I had not previously considered, I suddenly feel excited about it. Kudos!

Not a fan of certain parts of it, sad to say, the misplaced Wilhelm-scream, Kíli deflecting arrows with his sword (really?), and other such overexaggerated, over-the-top moments alike. Sure, the Hobbit has a much more light-hearted tone to it (a tone which I am very much looking forward to experiencing), but I don't think that necessitates going to such extremes with the battles; It just takes away from the supposed danger of the situation, and makes it hard to take it serious, imo. Also, I never really got a sense of what was actually going on with the characters; One second, they were all running together, the next, they were somehow separated, yet it was never clear exactly how that happened.

That's as far as my criticism goes though, and I really can't stress just how much I enjoyed the rest of the clips (well, apart from the Riddles in the Dark, which I decided not to watch; I'm mustering all my willpower to save that one for the cinema); Heck, even the Goblin-town segment, with it's faults, filled me with delight, seeing Gandalf for real again, seeing the dwarves in action, and hearing Shore's tunes. My favorite is the arrival of the dwarves at Bag End, so far it feels like they got the Unexpected Party exactly right. I also squealed with glee when I recognised Thorin's last line in the warg-segment; "What in Durin's name is going on?".

I liked the sequence as this is not LOTR but fits the tone of the Hobbit. Remember the same sequence from the animated Hobbit;)

What was a bit jarring though was the Wilhelm scream of the falling Goblin that instantly reminded me of the ROTJ Sarlacc pit sequence where one of Jabbas goons falls into the pit screaming which is followed by Luke dodging laser bolts, and here we have Kili dodging arrows...

Here is the complete Sarlacc sequence for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AELImg_jnBA

I don't think so. Radagast is here, and I am thinking this is an earlier attack.
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before Rivendell. This may be leading to the entrance of Elrond and his riders (if anyone of them is blonde and doesn't die, its Glorfindel lol. . . unless the same character buys it in the next films, in which case, it obvioiusly wasn't him. lolol)

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I have a feeling this may be the 'fun' action scene for the last act of the movie, and the following action scene with the wargs will be more tense (still with a lot of gags and visual flare of course).

"Hear me, hounds of Sauron, Gandalf is here! Fly if you value your foul skins, I will shrivel you from tail to snout if you step within this circle!"

"Do not be to eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

making those damned orcs stronger and more sturdy than they should have been. Here the dwarves have a Wizard, and there are just a bunch of goblin/orcs with no Maia Demon to bolster them. lol

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I was going to say the sequence was 'so Moria', but while it does very much refer to it (chanting, a fellowship running through the dark) these guys seem a bit overpowerful. In Moria we saw a desperate fellowship that had a hard time getting past loads of monsters, but the action here is very over the top (especially the goblins on the swinging lines that instead wrap around the falling bridge). But we'll see how it plays out within the rest of the film. It's less serious after all.

"Hear me, hounds of Sauron, Gandalf is here! Fly if you value your foul skins, I will shrivel you from tail to snout if you step within this circle!"

"Do not be to eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

I was with you at first, but when I considered it (P.S. Thanks for the shares Joe, and I don't know if the Thrain scene is in)
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it is such a perfect mirror of what happened to Thrain, driven by evil birds (and shall we assume bats) and wargs, and other evil beasts, haunted and hunted,, driven ever towards Mirkwood. Sauron had ways of finding things out, and it is not implausible that he would have treated Thorin to a similar fate, had not there been a Wizard watching over him. . . and a hobbit with a certain Ring. . . and, in this version, Wood Elves at the end of the spider run.

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I have always been a little vary about the idea of wargs tracking the company right from the start, but now that you bring up how well it mirrors Thráin's journey, something which I had not previously considered, I suddenly feel excited about it. Kudos!

Agree on the design of the wargs, they look great.

"Hear me, hounds of Sauron, Gandalf is here! Fly if you value your foul skins, I will shrivel you from tail to snout if you step within this circle!"

"Do not be to eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

I couldn't disagree more with the folks who don't like the Goblin Town sequence
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Sorry, that was grand fun, Wilhelm scream and all, and the music was fantastic. -Tim came by. Tim! If you had heard only a quarter of what I have heard about him, and I have only heard very little of all there is to hear, you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale.